Alright, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to 2 John. 2 John. John, who had greeted the elect
lady, thanked the Lord for her believing children, set forth
his thanks unto the Lord for the evidence of God's grace to
not only call her, but also her children, and that there was
a continuance in the walk of the truth. And he asked her,
exhorting her to obedience, to consider afresh the Lord's commandment
that we love not only Him who has loved us first, but that
we love one another. Now, John, in the conclusion
of this letter, he's given a warning to this lady, his sister, in
Christ, and to her children, telling her afresh of the watchfulness
that there needs to be against the spirit of Antichrist. He's exhorted her, thanked God
for her, taught her afresh about loving one another. Now he's
going to warn her. He says, Starts off in verse 7, 4. Now whatever
is getting ready to be said, it has reference to what he's
just said. He's just spoken about the care
that needs to be taken, the need for diligent consideration about
loving one another, loving Christ, steadfastness. 4. Many deceivers are entered into
the world. who confess not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and anti-Christ. Now, everybody and their brother,
you know, they say, well, I believe that Jesus Christ came in the
flesh. I believe that. What do you believe
about what God said that He's eternally done, choosing a people? and that Christ has the eternal
surety to save His people, come into this world and lay down
His life for the sheep. That's what John's saying there.
He said, I want you to know, love one another, pray for one
another, encourage one another. We're brethren. Why? Because
many deceivers come, entered into this world. The Spirit of
God is told John, and John sets this forth with the character. How are you going to know them? He said, well, they're false
deceivers. They're not telling the truth. They don't confess that the Lord
Jesus Christ, God's Lamb, for His people, came to this world
to save His people from their sins. That's the deception. They'll say, we believe, you
know, what these deceivers do under the pretense of being ministers,
believers. They say we have a love for the
truth, we love people. They pretend to be concerned
about men's souls and they say a hearty longing for God's glory,
but they twist, they rest the Scriptures and they twist it
to try to make it say something that it doesn't. And they handle
the Word of God deceitfully and they're dishonoring to God and
they're liars. They're liars. They're deceivers. They're impostors. And they exhibit,
according to the Word of God, the spirit of anti-Christ. And as I said, I heard Brother
Henry say this, it's not that they're not anti-morality. Pharisees were moral, they thought. I'm not like that, sir. I tithe
and I pray, but what they is, they're not anti-religion. They
go to church, carry their Bibles, you know, always, you know. But they're anti-Christ. They're against God's Christ. Who hath believed our report?
Neil just read. To whom has the arm of the Lord
revealed? They're anti-Christ. They're anti-God's Christ. The
Lord warned, Matthew 7, 15, beware of false prophets. which come
to you in sheep's clothing. In sheep's clothing. I love the
Lord. The Lord has saved me. He died
on the cross for me. They come trying to look like
a sheep, but inwardly they're ravening wolves. You'll know
them. Listen to what they say. Listen
to what they say. If anybody comes and doesn't
preach this gospel, the gospel of God's grace, he's a deceiver. Here's how you know. They confess
in salvation by the Lord. They confess that Jesus Christ
shed His blood on Calvary, but shed it for everybody. That's
a lie. That's a lie. How do you know it's a lie? The
Lord said it's a lie. I lay down my life for the sheep.
Then told some Pharisees, he said, you don't believe me because
you're not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know
them and they follow me. So John says, verse 8, look to
yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought,
which we've gained, that we receive a full reward. Now we don't look
to ourselves for life, that's not what he's saying, but he
says look about, be aware of, look around you, be alert, take
notice, take care, be sensible of these false teachers and false
doctrine. And this is hard because it's
hard in the sense that we don't unnecessarily want to be mean. I don't. I don't want to be mean.
But I will say this, when it comes to somebody lying, lying
on God, lying to somebody and making merchandise of men's souls,
no, no, no. We know that the lax salvation
is sure. John says, to yourselves that
we lose not those things which we have wrought, gained. But I know this. I know that
Christ has died for His elect. All that the Father has given
me, they're going to come to me. Him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. I give unto them eternal life.
They're never going to perish. We know that. And the clearer
that truth is to us, The more we cling to Christ for life,
the more careful we become, the more watchful we are of the wiles
of the devil. This is the evidence of a regenerated
sinner. They are cautious. They're cautious. I was talking to somebody. I
won't tell you who it is because you may know him. I'm not going
to say it. But I was talking to somebody at another church.
And I asked him, I said, where's Brother So-and-so? I hadn't heard
of him. Where is he? And he said, oh,
he left. He quit. I'd had this guy preach for me,
come down when I was in Tennessee. And I thought, what? Yeah, he's
not going anywhere. He just left. I said, you've
got to be kidding me. The more a believer hears the
gospel, the more he's convinced. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. And I'm persuaded. But he said,
I keep my body under subjection, lest that after I preach to others,
that I would be a castaway. You say, I don't understand that.
Well, this is the way it is. The Spirit of God has imparted
a new heart. to His people. And they know
Christ. They love Him and they cling
to Him. Lord, don't leave me to myself. David said, don't
take Your Spirit from me. You know, the more they are convinced,
the more jealous they are for their souls. Lord, if You don't
keep me, I'm not going to be kept. Now that, you know, you
say, well that just seems like it's too... Well, that's it.
Take heed, the Lord said. Matthew 24, take heed that no
man deceive you. Take heed. Take heed what you
hear, Mark 4.24. What measure you meet will be
measured to you. How thankful. We ought to be
cautious. We're glad that we want to take
heed. It's so subtle. Leaving is usually not accomplished
in one Sunday. It's like all of a sudden, you
know, just kind of... And before you know it, Lord,
this is what a believer prays. Lord, He's not presumptuous.
Lord, keep me. Lord, help me. Lord, to give
diligence, to make my calling and election sure. Here, John
warns the lady. He said, be aware. Be aware of
this error. You take care toward yourself.
Be mindful of the danger that it caused. Take notice of the
weakness and the vileness that's found in all of us because of
the presence of sin. Observe the danger and resist
losing that which we've gained. A believer is that way. He loves
the gospel. He loves God's people. He does.
And he's so cautious. Verse 9, Whosoever transgresseth
and abided not in the doctrine of Christ. What does that mean? They leave. That's what it means. It doesn't mean whoever ever
commits a sin, we all commit a sin. We all sin. We say we're
without sin, we make God a liar. You know, whosoever transgresses
and doesn't abide in the doctrine of Christ. What am I talking
about? You know what I'm talking about.
the gospel of God's grace. Whoever neglects, oversteps,
and violates the truth of Christ that God has set forth in His
Word, what does the Scriptures have to say? Somebody says, well,
I may not believe it just like you believe it, but we're all
working for the same thing. No, we're not. There's one way,
one gospel, one truth, and it doesn't deviate. Marvin, I think you're just a
little bit too dogmatic. Well, okay. I want to be as dogmatic
as the scriptures are dogmatic. Does God have an elect people?
Yes, He does. Is He going to save the elect?
Yes, He is. That's what He said. Did Christ
die for the elect? Yes, He did. That's what He said.
Is He going to keep them? Yes, He is. Are they going to
be cautious? Yes, they are. He that transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ doesn't have God. He never had
Him. He never had the Lord. He doesn't
know Him in truth. He's not a believer. It doesn't
matter. Why? Because God's people believe
this truth. This is what they believe. When
that group left the Lord, back in John 6, Because he said, no
man can come. You don't have the ability to
come to me unless it's given unto you by my Father. Whoa,
wait a minute. That's a hard saying there. And
they left. They left him. And the Lord turned
to his disciples and he said, are you going to go too? You
leaving? Peter said, Lord, where are we
going to go? Where are you going to go? Thou hast the words of
eternal life. You're the Christ. Isaiah 8,
20, to the law, to the testimony, if they speak not according to
this word, it's because there's no life, no light in them. Verse 10, if there come any unto
you and bring not this doctrine. Now what's that saying? It says
if there comes any unto you and they don't preach this truth. This truth. Receive him not into your house,
neither bid him Godspeed." If one comes to you, if one comes here under the guise
of a preacher, or one trying to teach you something, and if
he comes to the church, for sure, and wants to preach, you know,
No. If he comes to your house wanting
to spread this false doctrine, if he's wanting to come under
the guise of a teacher to your house, comes desiring to talk
to you about what they claim to be is the truth, especially
knowing full well when they come that this is what they're wanting
to do. What does the scripture say? Receive Him not into your
house. Neither bid Him God's speed.
The motive is to deceive you, to spread their lies and to attempt
to draw you away from the truth as it is in Christ. Avoid them. Avoid them publicly, privately. Don't give them any encouragement. Don't give them the cordial,
you know, good day, Lord be with you. You know, Lord bless you. Don't give him any reason to
make him believe that you're in agreement with him. Don't,
don't, don't. Verse 11, For he that biddeth
him God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds. I mean, to let
him believe, look, you and I believe the same thing. We believe the
same thing. And you know you don't. Don't tell him. Be better,
don't say anything to him. Don't give him any encouragement
whatsoever. To make them believe, I believe
we're on the same page. We just kind of, maybe our chapters
don't jive. No, no. He that bideth him Godspeed
is a partaker. I wrote down something Brother
Henry said. He said, those who wish false teachers well, who
encourage them or converse with them in a friendly and familiar
way, religiously. Now I'm not talking about being
mean to people. I'm talking about when it comes
to someone talking to you about a false doctrine and you giving
them the impression that you agree with them. That's what
I'm talking about. I mean, you know, even with in
their talking to you, I'm not saying be mean to them. I'm not
saying, but just say, you know, I just don't agree with you.
I don't believe that. That doesn't bear out in scripture.
Instead of reproving them as we ought, what does that mean?
Tell them I don't agree with you. I don't agree. Again, I'm
not saying be mean to them, I'm just saying I don't agree with
you. If you don't, if you give them the impression I really
agree with you, I know we're really pretty much You know,
if you do, he said, what you're doing is you're aiding them and
supporting them in their attacks on Christ and his people. And therefore, the scripture
declares that the person who does that in a familiar, friendly,
kind way, insinuating to them that you're on the same page
with them, actually, he said, you're a partaker of their evil
deeds. And then John said in closing,
verses 12 and 13, to this lady. Now that was as far as the Spirit
of God was pleased to allow John to write for our admonition. He closed and said this, having
many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper
and ink. But I trust to come unto you
and speak face to face, mouth to mouth, that our joy may be
full. The children of thy elect sister
greet thee. Amen." Obviously, the Spirit
of God had something to say to all of us, needful. But then
there was something else that was going to be of a private
matter. Because John told her, he said,
I've got many things that I could write to you. But he said, I'm
not going to put them down on paper. This is going to be for
her ears only. And for that we're thankful that
the Lord had a special word to this woman. What he was going
to tell her, he said, I'm going to look at you. I'm going to
sit down, I'm going to look at you face to face, I'm going to
talk to you personally. And then he closed this letter
with a gracious greeting the family, the family of believers
or other members. And he told me, he said, the
children of the Iolec sister, all of us. We have brethren. And when we greet one another,
when I go to someplace else to preach, if I'm at Don's or Todd's
or wherever, I'll tell them, the saints at Katie, we greet
you. I'm glad to be able to be here
with you today. We love one another of the same
body. I pray that God be pleased to bless this letter that John
wrote to this sister in Christ, and that the Spirit of God might
take what John wrote to her, but the Spirit of God to us,
and that it might be a blessing to us, to our comfort, joy, and
peace for Christ's sake and our good. Amen.